Lakewood OKs $3.2M repaving contract

LAKEWOOD - City officials Tuesday awarded a $3.2 million contract to a Corona-based construction company to repave a number of local streets.

All American Asphalt, which submitted the lowest bid, won the 5.7-mile project in a 5-0 vote at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

The repaving project, which is scheduled to begin in late January and be completed in May, includes seven major Lakewood roadways.

One road will be repaved at a time. Curbs, gutters and sidewalks along the roads also will be repaired.

The roads include: Arbor Road between Lakewood and Paramount boulevards; Ashworth Street between Lakewood Boulevard and Clark Avenue; Carson Street between Nectar Avenue and Pioneer Boulevard; Del Amo Boulevard between Clark Avenue and Studebaker Road; Palo Verde Avenue between South and Allington streets; and South Street between Lakewood Boulevard and Downey Avenue.

The $3.2 million project will be paid with federal and county transportation funds. All American will receive $2.8 million for the work; another $360,180 will be paid to an engineering firm to cover administration.

Other council actions included:

Approval of the purchase of a new 14-foot-by-36-foot, $158,380 mobile stage for special events, such as concerts in the park, Pan Am Fiesta and the Civic Center Block Party. The previous 25-year-old stage became unusable in 2010.

Approval of an agreement with Caltrans for the agency to relinquish jurisdiction of Lakewood Boulevard to the city. Lakewood officials have been pushing for the agreement, which will allow them to speed up future improvement projects and ensure the same standard of maintenance as other roadways in the city.

Caltrans will pay Lakewood $574,000 to cover future maintenance costs. When the Caltrans money runs out, the city will use other funding sources, such as federal money, to pay for maintenance and repairs of the boulevard.

The next step is for the California Transportation Commission to approve the agreement in early 2012.

The council appointed Councilman Steve Croft to a two-year term to the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. His term begins Jan. 2.